Choosing the Simple Life

12/12/2014 04:01:00 AM

As a kid, I remember daydreaming about moving to a brand new house. The parents would tell us that we're going to the mall, but instead surprise us and bring us to the new house. I will then run around, choose my very own room, which I will probably deck out in pink everything. That is the dream back then.

As an adult, I've heard a lot of people saying.. "I want a big house" "I want this.. I want that.." which is quite normal as we live in a world where it's difficult to be contented. But I, for one, never wanted a big house. Yes, I want my own place, but never did I dream about living in a mansion. Even if I have all the money in the world, I won't choose to go that route. I don't know, maybe I'm just simple like that. Or maybe I'm just lazy to keep that place clean. Or maybe I wanted to actually see the people I live with. We all have our reasons for wanting this and that, and I'm just thankful that having the big house isn't my dream.

Now that I know more(?) about how this life of ours work, I realized that for me, living simply is the way to live. That big house is harder for upkeep, expensive to maintain, and if you're not really rich and have that in mortgage, you'll have to work very long hours that you'll barely spend time in that said big house. I'm not saying doing that is wrong, if that is your dream then go for it. If that will make you happy then I'm sure it will be worth it. But I choose the other way.

I wanted our house to work for me, not the other way around. When the bf and I was talking about our future house, we've discussed a few options. Purchase an old house and have it renovated? Purchase a lot and build a new house? With these options, we'll definitely have to loan. We have some savings but not enough for those, especially that we wanted to live near our families where property is expensive. We calculated and recalculated how much we wanted to pay for monthly mortgage, and with cost of purchasing a lot or an old house, it is quite huge, more than what we wanted to shell out in a monthly basis in the next 10-20 years of our life. Can we afford to pay that monthly mortgage? Sure. But it means we'll be slaving for a lot of years, plus life is so unpredictable so it's quite a scary route. (Which I know a lot of you are doing so I salute you for your bravery!)

That is why we ultimately decided to build on their family lot. Hence the Tiny House. We wanted to build the house using only our savings, and not all of it. That's why we're doing our best to save on this house to have some more left once the house is all done. We choose to live simply and on what we can afford. We're happy to have the tiny house as it means we'll have a house debt-free, and we can upgrade / prettify/ decorate the house to our heart's content and still not spend so much as it is really small. Few pieces of furniture and we're all done. Haha. Tiny house means smaller utility bills, less space to upkeep and maintain. Tiny house means that we're more careful in what we bring in as we don't have enough space to keep all the clutter. It means that we're more free to enjoy what life has to offer. Instead of paying mortgage, maybe we can travel. Or eat out more. Or save. I don't know, I just feel like by living simpler, you'll have more freedom.

Of course, having a tiny house has its downside. No extra room, no backyard, smaller sofa.. haha.. but I'll take that. I've mentioned that hopefully, it's not our forever home. It has a lot of stairs and the "elder" me is screaming no. haha.. But we'll just save up for that forever home while enjoying this tiny house. And no, it will still not be big. A small house with a backyard and fresh air is the dream. :)

More and more people are choosing this life now. There's even a Tiny House Movement, which puts our tiny house to shame. Those houses are literally tiny, even I can't live in one. But the main concept is living simply, living within your means, having more time and freedom to do what you love instead of slaving to pay debt, and saving up for your future/retirement. It sounds like a more relaxed way to live.

I know a lot of people doesn't have the luxury to build a house on their family lot, so I'm so thankful to the bf's family for their generosity. Like seriously, with all the mess that's going on with the renovation, no complaints whatsoever. Thank you! If you don't have that option, just live within your means, get a house within your means. Don't over do it. I've read a lot of stories where people regret buying their "dream" home. It put them in huge debt and stress, and when they were forced to leave, they had no choice but to live simpler lives. And they are much happier.

So I've been babbling here like some know it all, truth be told, I know nothing. I don't have life's great experiences to actually tell you the right way to live, this is just my humble observation and the path I'd like to continue on. Maybe I'm just saying all this to rationalized the tiny house, or maybe I actually have a point? But whatever life you're living right now, just be happy. Don't worry, be happy. Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don't worry, be happy.

I always love reading your posts, very genuine and spontaneous.... I totally agree on all points. I too live in a small house that I loaned but was able to pay it up in a few years time since it's, well, small :). But I'm very happy with it. As you said, it easy to maintain and you have all the freedom to decorate without making huge hole in your pocket.

All the best to your tiny house project and I can't wait to see the finished product and most especially how you're going to decorate it!!

Hi! Thank you so much and congratulations on you small home.. :) I know not a lot of people will understand my thoughts since it's been instilled in us to dream BIG right? But I know there's a certain beauty and freedom that comes with simplicity... So let's see where it will take us. :)

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HELLO

Hello, this is Elle Uy from Manila Philippines.

Decor Me Happy is a chronicle of my work as a decorator, our life in the "Tiny" house, endless design inspiration, and a place to share my mostly chaotic thoughts about my pursuit of happy homes and the randomness that is called life.

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